Playing spin the bottle felt juvenile, a party activity that prepubescent kids obsessed over and made far too big of a fuss about. But it also served as an excellent form of entertainment. Eli didn’t see himself getting paired up with anyone, given the fact that the group was fairly large. That suited him just fine; he hadn’t come to this party expecting a love connection or anything of the sort. Each pairing that had to kiss was more preposterous than the last. The stranger the match up, the more hilarious it was to watch it unfold. Eli watched as Jake stood up from his spot and went to the bottle, giving it a good spin. Gradually it slowed down and eventually stopped, Eli’s jaw dropping open a bit as it landed on him. It was awkward on multiple levels -- the two of them were forging a new friendship, and their shared history with Clare made doing even that complicated. He hesitantly stood up and walked to the center of the circle, hands shoved into his pockets. “We uh, we don’t have to, you know.” he said, smiling as convincingly as he could. It wasn’t that he was opposed to kissing Jake, but he realized how strange it would seem and how it might complicate matters. Not only that, but he was sure Jake would pass him over in a heartbeat, far preferring girls.
